RUSSELLVILLE  Four men charged with battery in a suspected hazing incident at Arkansas Tech University have pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

The men pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of violation of hazing. The Russellville Courier reported that Judge William Pearson sentenced them to 90 days of probation.

The men — 22-year-old Deonte Bradley, 25-year-old Stephen Bender, 26-year-old Calvin Williams and 22-year-old Klyantel Summons — were accused of paddling the student so badly that his kidneys stopped functioning and he required weeks of hospitalization.

The university banned the Pi-Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity from campus because of the incident.

Defense attorney Marion Humphrey says he’s grateful for prosecutors’ cooperation, but that his clients were “taking the rap” for an incident that involved more than a dozen people.